Coastal towns prepare for influx of new residents from Exxon project

Taft, Sinton and other San Patricio County communities outside the Gregory-Portland area hope Exxon's proposed ethylene cracker plant improves their economies. But the pressure is on for them to first build more homes and roads.(Photo: Chris Ramirez/Caller-Times)

The community promotes itself, on road signs and banners, as the "Friendliest cotton pickin' town in Texas," after all.

To hear Ray De Los Santos tell the story, Taft has another big attribute, one that he hopes will attract new residents — it's a 10-minute drive to where the Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to build what could be the world's largest ethylene plant.

Portland and Gregory, on the Northshore, are likely the first to benefit from the project; they're closest to the 1,300-acre project area.

But officials in Taft and other further-flung San Patricio County towns also want a piece of the action.

They're working hard to revise — and, in some cases, dust off — their master plans ahead of the petrochemical giant's arrival.

"The growth is coming. We know it's coming," said De Los Santos, Taft's economic development director.

Exxon is working with the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. to open the facility near Gregory, at Farm-to-Market Road 2986 and U.S. Highway 181. If built, the facility would produce materials used to make polyester for clothing, bottles and construction materials.

It also will create thousands of jobs. Not hundreds, but thousands of them.

So what's the problem?

That corner of the Coastal Bend is short on housing. Way short.

Construction of multi-family homes countywide has accelerated since the beginning of 2016, while that of single-family units has remained flat. That's according to a report in April by the South Texas Economic Development Center, at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Housing worries

Rents in Portland, the county's largest city, have skyrocketed; the average rent in June for Portland was more than over $1,000, though some apartment-hunter websites report rent there as high as $1,700 for a two-bedroom unit.

Enter Taft.

It's just seven miles from the proposed Exxon site.

Officials in this town of 3,000, sandwiched between miles of cotton fields and clusters of wind farms, are thinking long term.

They're laying the groundwork for what they believe is necessary to make Taft an alternative for Exxon employees who may want to unfurl roots.

Smith started the operation in 1995 at a storefront in the Hill Country, then relocated to Taft in 2002.

"I have an affinity for the water," he says. Taft isn't far from Aransas Pass, where he docks his 30-foot boat called "Big Bird."

Exxon's plunge into San Patricio County reinvigorates other business growth, said Smith, who also is a member of Taft's economic development board. Some of Taft's business leaders are in talks with a company that is interested in starting a facility in town for training operators to use large vehicles and equipment, he said.

Smith believes that while Taft needs scores of new homes, new restaurants, additional retail stores and other businesses may be lured to the area by Exxon's arrival.

"We're a few minutes away" from the Exxon parcel, he said. "This is a friendly community with a friendly labor force that could be an excellent option for a second-, third- or fourth-tier supplier."

Smith said Taft was put to the test earlier, when industrial growth began to take off at other facilities, such as Cheniere Energy's liquefied natural gas plant and Voestalpine Texas' iron manufacturing complex.

"They were a dress rehearsal for us," Smith said.

Exxon promises to be a bigger test.

Room to grow

Efforts to change Taft's image have been underway for years. Money has been applied to building new sidewalks and to fixing up its aging, run-down facades in downtown.

Local leaders made a priority of redoing all 22 miles of road within the city limits. And Taft's signature water tower was repainted and remodeled.

The idea is to make Taft more pleasing to the eye and perhaps comfortable for a crop of new families and homeowners.

"We're trying to develop strategies that will highlight Taft's geographic proximity to jobs, while also telling the story of how Taft has been and is rebuilding itself," De Los Santos said.

Taft's Economic Development Corp. hopes the six acres on Toland Avenue it acquired two years ago can be used for 80-100 new single-family homes. The city recently another annexed another 105 acres and wants to develop it later, mainly for homes. MDR, a public relations firm in Corpus Christi, also has been working with Taft officials to develop a marketing strategy that highlight the community's geographic proximity to jobs.

"You have to be ready to absorb growth," De Los Santos said. "Preparation for it is key."

This isn't the first time Taft has high hopes on a big swath of land.

The city in 2009 annexed about 200 acres on its southwest side. The move added hundreds of new homes to Taft's tax rolls.

Questions arose months later over concerns by some voters. Some said they felt the city rushed into the deal. Others were confused by the redrawn city limits and didn't know if they were eligible to cast ballots.

Taft's City Council reversed the annexation in February 2010, and voters overwhelmingly supported a measure the following year to de-annex the land.

The $10 billion plant is expected to be capable of producing 1.8 million tons of ethylene each year.

Ideally, it would feed plants that produce monoethylene glycol and polyethylene. Both are substances used to make polyester for clothing, bottles and construction materials.

State regulators have not yet awarded Exxon its air permit for the plant, so construction hasn't started.

Once that process is completed, it would take about five years to build the facility. Company officials expect it to create roughly 11,000 construction jobs and more than 600 permanent positions.

In the meantime, officials in Ingleside, eight miles east of the Exxon site, are scrambling for more housing.

Keeping pace with the growth has been tough.

Ingleside's population jumped 11.7 percent to 10,488 last year from 9,381 in 2010, according to the latest U.S. Census figures.

City officials typically issued about a dozen permits to build new homes each year before 2009, when drilling in the nearby Eagle Ford Shale energy play began to take off.

More than twice as many permits were issued in 2015 and 2016, city records show.

Eight permits have been issued by the city for home as of July 3.

A 120-unit apartment complex, near Main Street and state Highway 361, opened August 2016. A 264-unit complex, on Avenue A, is expected to begin taking in tenants by November.

Traffic congestion is another concern in Ingleside.

The city also is working with the state to build Highway 200, which they hope will help divert industrial traffic.

Officials for the city of Ingleside and the Texas Department of Transportation are moving forward with plans to build an industrial highway near the city to reduce traffic on Main Street. Ingleside and San Patricio County communities hope Exxon's proposed ethylene cracker plant improves their economies. But the pressure is on for them to first build more homes and roads.

The project is expected to cost $10 million; the state has agreed to pay $6 million, the city will cover the remaining $4 million.

Construction of the four-lane, two-mile highway has not yet gotten underway. Rickey Dailey, a transportation department spokesman, said properties needed for right-of-way on the project have been appraised, but no offers have been made.

Right-of-way-acquisition progress will begin once there is a cost-participation agreement in place with the city, he said. Once that's done, construction would be 18 to 24 months, Dailey said.

Leaders in Mathis, 45 miles west of the Gregory-Portland area, also are also eager for the Exxon project to get underway.

The community last year received $350,000 from the Texas Capital Fund to pay for a variety of downtown improvements, including redoing sidewalks and installing new lighting, and landscaping and park benches.

It applied to the state for an $850,000 grant to pay for more improvements, and has been working with consultants and engineers to determine its needs in downtown.

"We look for Mathis to grow in the next five years ... and want to make sure we have the infrastructure to handle it," said Doug Dowler, executive director of Mathis' Economic Development Corp. "We're probably not in Exxon footprint, but we are close enough to commute to it and to the other plants.

"They're (Portland and Gregory) not the only ones. There's a lot of opportunity out there for the entire county."